Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures
by Megg22
Summary: A different path for Bree & the women of Wisteria Lane from Season 8 Episode 13 onward. With old faces returning,love and friendship as challenging as ever, can they really hide the truth about that terrible night or will everything unravel before them...
1. Chapter 1

__**The beginning of this fic is taken from a scene in episode 13 of serious 8 (Bree's Intervention) I loved this scene and so I'm using it as the starting point but will then be taking it on a different path to the current series 8. Being a UK viewer I haven't seen as many episodes as you in the US so don't expect it to have all the up to date details of the series.**

**Also, as the fic continues I may bring back past characters that didn't survive in the actual show but I will assume that they did. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Desperate Housewives and have simply included a few lines from a scene I am adapting, with no intention of conflicting copyright.**

**Hope you enjoy & please comment :) **

_"Okay fine, you're right. We did, we screwed up, we let this pull us apart but that's not going to happen again." Gabby stated honestly._

_"Because no matter what you think, we love you Bree." Susan looked at her friend with genuine concern as she spoke._

_"We just want things to be back the way they were" Lynette also spoke sincerely._

_Now all three women waited tentatively in front of their friend who was so visibly hurting. As tears ran down her face they longed for her to run into their arms and bring them all back together, to be the united group that they once were. But as she shook her head, the words that none of them wanted to hear, were spoken._

_"Well I don't" and with that Bree left her oldest friends standing in her living room._

As she went to her kitchen she staggered a little. The conversation had brought her crashing back into her awful reality but the excessive alcohol she had consumed that night evidently still had a hold on her. Now that the exciting evening she'd had planned was ruined she decided she may as well get ready to sleep alone and slowly moved towards the sink to get herself a glass of water to take up to bed with her.

Having not moved since Bree left the room, the three women looked at each other, not quite knowing what to say.

"We can't leave her like this." Lynette finally managed, "she's a mess and no matter what she says, she needs us right now."

"We all need each other." Susan added.

"What was that?" Gabby was distracted from the conversation as she heard a noise in the direction of the kitchen which she took a step closer to. "Oh Jesus." She added as she realised the sound was of Bree being sick.

Lynette and Susan followed Gabby into the kitchen where Bree could be seen with her head hanging over her kitchen sink.

"Oh, sweetie." Lynette moved towards Bree and placed a hand on her back to comfort her.

"Don't touch –" Bree attempted but as another wave of alcohol based sickness rushed over her she was too weak to even try and argue.

Lynette would have ignored the request anyway; she was moving Bree's curled red hair away from her face whilst gently soothing her back.

As the sickness subsided Bree felt weak, tired and emotionally drained. Having her friends there to help her was a relief that she couldn't bear to admit. As they helped her get changed into a nightgown and get her tucked into bed she felt like bursting into tears. Ever since they had turned against her she had told herself that they did not deserve her friendship and that she was better off without them. Yet, each time she'd seen one of them her heart would ache. The sight of them chatting and drinking coffee together earlier that morning had almost killed her because something had been missing – she had been missing.

"How are you feeling?" Susan asked interrupting Bree's private thoughts. Her, Gabby and Lynette had all perched themselves on the edge of Bree's bed now that she was comfortably inside it.

"Hmm, much better, thank you" Bree smiled but it was half-hearted, she couldn't simply shake the anger away at how her closest friends had turned against her after everything that she had tried to do for them.

"Bree, we're so sorry." Gabby spoke now, sensing that Bree still didn't want them to be there. "I know how much you risked for us, well, for me and I'm so sorry that I didn't appreciate everything you did. You're right you know, I needed someone to take over, to take control and that was you, just like it always is! But now let us help you Bree because, honey I don't think you're in control anymore." She wasn't trying to be mean or cruel, just honest and Bree knew that what she had said was right, which is why she broke down in the tears she had so desperately been trying to keep in.

"I just needed you." She sobbed.

"And we're here now Bree, we're not going anywhere." Susan held Bree in her arms as she was sat closest to her.

"We've all had a pretty rough time of it lately, but we have to stick together, now more than ever." Lynette spoke to all of them, to comfort herself as much as to comfort Bree.

The following morning Lynette quickly crossed over to Bree's house as she saw her make her way outside to collect her newspaper from the driveway.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" She called, causing Bree to look up and wince a little in the bright morning sunlight.

"Hmm, I've got a bit of a headache but apart from that I'm feeling much better thank you." She smiled despite her weariness, she was just so happy to be able to have a normal conversation with Lynette. She'd missed her company so much recently.

"I'm pretty sure a coffee and some asprin would help that out." Lynette smiled too, feeling as though life was finally returning to some sort of normality, "how about you pop over to mine when you're dressed, I'll invite Gabby and Susan."

"That would be nice." Bree agreed, before returning to her house to get ready.

"How are you feeling?" Susan asked Bree for about the fifth time since they had sat down at Lynette's house.

Bree couldn't help but laugh as she responded, "honestly Susan, I'm just as fine as I was five miniutes ago – when you asked me the same thing!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just don't want you to keep anything bottled up, it didn't feel right when you wasn't around and I don't want that to happen again."

"It's not going to," Gabby stated, "Chuck's dead and as long as we stick together and carry on living our lives, nothing bad will happen. We just need to act normally, and Bree honey that means no more drinking. You weren't yourself and we don't need any extra attention put on any of us alright."

"And," Lynette purposefully added, "It's not good for you! You're an alcoholic Bree, it's a dark path to go down and we're not going to let it happen again."

"Don't worry, I had a period of, well, undignified relations shall we say, but that's over now and I won't be drowning my sorrows in a bottle, not when I have you girls to confide in." All four of them smiled at that, they were finally back together.

**What did you think? If people are interested I'm hoping to make it more interesting as the story goes on...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to anyone who has read and enjoyed this, especially those of you who have commented - it means a lot to hear what you think!**

**I know that this is a really quick update, they wont always be this quick, but when I get into the story and know what's coming next I like to write it and post it quickly so I can find out what you all think! :) **

**Of course I do not own Desperate Housewives, and I wont keep disclaiming this on every update but I have continued an idea from Series 8 Episode 13 in this update also so I just wanted to add again that no copyright infringement is intended here. **

The women had stayed at Lynette's house for hours. In the time that they had spent apart they had accumulated hours' worth of chat and gossip which they were now happy to share with each other over several drinks and some sandwiches. As time passed they would usually have traded the cups of coffee in for something a little stronger, but in light of Bree's recent slip they decided to support her and avoid any alcohol; despite her protests that she really didn't mind.

When Bree finally got home she realised that she felt rather hungry, she had only picked at the sandwiches Lynette had made them all earlier, because she had been too engrossed in the wonderfully familiar chat. Now though, she realised that she hadn't eaten properly in such a long time, the alcohol always had a faster effect when she drank on an empty stomach, so it was no wonder that she had an appetite for a nice hot meal.

Bree was dismayed to find her fridge completely empty, with the exception of some milk which after quick sniff, she briskly threw away. In her hunger, she attempted her cupboards in hope for something, even a tin of soup, to cook herself. Of course, she only ever cooked with fresh ingredients and so when the fridge was empty, there was very little hope of finding anything to make a meal out of.

The lack of anything to eat in her house was another reminder of the mess she had been living recently. Unusually, she felt like just ordering some food in – and maybe even eating out of the carton. However, today had already been a turning point for her, and so, in trying to get her life back to normal, she might as well go all out and get some decent food back into her house.

Checking the clock, it was now 7pm, usually she would do all of her food shopping of an afternoon, with a pre-prepared list, but this was going to have to be spontaneous so she simply grabbed her keys and made for her car. The local supermarket was about a ten miniute drive and she knew that it stayed open until pretty late so she would be able to do all the shopping she needed to.

Bree made her way down yet another aisle of food, picking items off of the shelves and adding them to her trolley which was now very nearly full. Not knowing exactly what she was there to buy had posed more of a problem than she'd thought it would. With each section of food she had to think so carefully about what dish each item would become a part of and whether she really needed it – this resulted in several items being returned or exchanged during the process. Now she was becoming bored of the chore. The late hour and trying to concentrate was not a good combination in addition to the fact that she was still extremely hungry!

Skipping the last few aisles because she didn't have any space left in her trolley and simply wanted to leave, Bree made her way to the check out. On paying her bill she caught sight of her watch which told her that it was now 9pm, which explained why it had become so dark outside. She loaded the packed bags of food into the trolley and wheeled it outside through the nearly empty car park, towards her car.

Shutting the boot as the last bag was safely placed inside; Bree pushed the trolley over to the trolley stand. She jumped in surprise as a man, she hadn't noticed in the seemingly empty car park, came over to return his trolley.

Realising how tired she must be she wanted to get back into her car, knowing she had that ten miniute drive to make, made her feel uneasy because she wasn't sure that her concentration was at its best and that it probably wasn't completely safe for her to be driving.

"Hey!" The man called out just as Bree was nearing her car causing her to turn around, thinking she may have dropped something.

"Sorry?" She questioned when she realised that she hadn't dropped anything but that the man was definitely speaking to her because he was looking straight at her.

"It's me, Michael." The man smiled and continued to walk towards Bree who looked completely perplexed because she didn't recognise him and wasn't really in the mood to even pretend that she did.

"Sorry," she repeated making an effort to not speak so bluntly, "I think you might have me confused with somebody else." She was as polite as possible but swiftly turned and got to the door of her car. As she went to unlock it, she felt someone close behind her.

"Oh no Bree, I couldn't get that red hair confused with anybody else." He whispered, not maliciously, almost, seductively which made Bree shiver.

"I have never met you before. Now please move away so that I can get into my car and go home!" She wasn't shouting but she hoped that her point was made very clear, and that he would back off because she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Maybe I could come with you." He winked at her as she turned, to which she gave him a glaring look in disgust.

"How dare you." She remarked, insulted and irritated.

"Now, that wasn't what you were saying a few nights ago. In fact, you couldn't wait to take me home quick enough."

Bree pursed her lips. She didn't quite know what to say because she couldn't deny this had happened. Her behaviour had been more than erratic recently, and whether she remembered it or not, this man could very well be telling the truth.

"Well," she managed, "I'm not interested anymore so if you'd kindly just move out of my way –" He stepped even closer, backing her up against the car door which quickly caused her to move from feeling uncomfortable, to very scared.

"Hmm, you see, I am interested, very interested, so let's just get in the car. We can just, get into the back seat if you want to be quick about it." He winked again and Bree thought she might actually be sick on him – if only she had anything inside of her to throw up!

Bree was about to put all of her strength into pushing his weight off of her as he tried to grab her keys out of her hand when suddenly he was pulled away from her and thrown onto the floor by another man. She was so stunned that she couldn't move, instead she watched the man who had nearly attacked her, pick himself up and run away after having been kicked by the figure who'd loomed over him after throwing him to the ground.

"Thank you." Bree managed to say to the man who had just gotten her out of a very dangerous situation.

"You're welcome Bree." As the man turned to face her, Bree finally saw his face which matched the voice she had instantly recognised.

She couldn't be sure if it was her hunger, tiredness, the stress of what had just happened, or the sight of the man standing before her – surely a whole combination – but she came over terribly light headed.

The sight of her, in front of him again made him feel happiness that he hadn't felt for a long time. As she stared at him with her mouth a little open with shock he waited. He couldn't tell if she was going to run into his arms and thank him or slap him around the face, because it had been so long since they had last been together.

Neither of these things happened though. As some awkward moments of silence passed, he was just about to make the first move and speak to her again until he noticed that she had gone extremely pale; noticeable even compared to her usual porcelain complexion. Her body suddenly seemed to fail her as she was passing out but he was quickly by her side to catch her in his arms.

**Hope you enjoyed that, I'm sure more will be coming very soon because I will want to reveal who the mystery man is... or will I? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy :)**

Holding her limp body in his arms he couldn't help but breathe in the familiar smell of her perfume. The beautiful red hair he had once been able to caress now fell messily over his arm as he stopped her from falling to the ground. He heard a noise and quickly scanned the car park to see if that creep had returned! He would have liked to have damaged the guy with more than just a kick for what he tried to do to Bree, but he wouldn't have dared to in front of the respectable woman. If he was making a return now though – he couldn't be sure he would keep the same composure.

The noise hadn't been made by a person but by Bree's car keys hitting the floor as they slipped out of her hand. Awkwardly bending down to reach them with Bree still in his arms, the man thought about driving her home. He couldn't. The risk of somebody else on the lane seeing him was too great. However, he couldn't just leave Bree here so he held the keys between his teeth in order to free the hand that wasn't holding Bree up, so that he could pull his cell out of his back pocket.

When the taxi arrived in the car park the man lifted Bree and gently laid her along the back seat, strapping a seatbelt around her slender waist so that she wouldn't fall. He couldn't resist placing a tender kiss on her cheek that was still extremely pale; he had to treat this as a goodbye because as much as he wanted to, he may never see her again.

Closing the door he moved to the window of the taxi driver to speak to give him an address.

"This woman doesn't live there but her friend, Susan, will take her in so knock on the door and tell her that Bree passed out and that she needs to look after her. Here's this woman's car keys, let this Susan know where the car is so that someone can come and collect it for her tomorrow."

The taxi driver didn't look impressed as he listened to the man's detailed instructions.

"So, why can't you just jump in the back and tell this Susan yourself?" He stated with raised eyebrows.

"Look it's complicated but I just need you to do this. Here's the fare and some extra for your trouble – just make sure that this woman gets there safely." After handing the driver several notes, the man stood back from the taxi.

He watched the driver, pleased with the generous tip; take the woman away from the car park and towards Wisteria Lane.

The doorbell took Susan by surprise as nobody usually called round at night, or if they did it was only a neighbour who would tap the door or walk right in. Shifting from under Mikes weight where he had fallen asleep leaning on her where they sat on the sofa, she got up and went to the door.

"Are you Susan?" The man asked as she opened the door to him.

"Umm, yeah I'm Susan, what is this about?"

"Bree passed out and I'm told that you need to look after her. These are her car keys," he handed Susan the keys as she stood staring at him a little confused "her car is in the Walmart car park about a ten miniute drive away." The flat tone he had used throughout the conversation went unnoticed by Susan who was staring at the man as he waited for a response.

When he didn't get one, he added; "So, is someone going to get her out of my taxi or what?"

"Right, umm yeah, one second." Susan left the man standing on her doorstep as she went to get Mike. "Mike wake up, you need to go and get Bree, she passed out and she's in the back of this guy's cab." Rubbing his eyes Mike didn't even question the request. Lifting Bree's limp body out of the back seat he carried his neighbour into the house and laid her comfortably on the sofa he had just been happily asleep on.

"Thanks, do you need money for the fare?" Susan asked the man who was more than ready to leave now. Despite the extra earnings he had made on this job, it was weird and he wanted to get back to regular A to B drop offs.

"No worries, the other guy paid." The driver was about to drive off when the woman he now knew as Susan came up to his window.

"Wait, who was this guy? How did he know Bree and where to send her?" Susan wondered if the man could even take her seriously as she stood by his window in fluffy slippers and a dressing gown.

"He didn't give a name, tall guy, couldn't see him that well in the dark but he sure was concerned about the red head. Gave me all these instructions but said he couldn't come with her. I'd just be greatfull that your friends safe, all sorts happen in car parks these days."

"Hmm, well thanks again." Susan ended the conversation so that the man could leave.

"What was all that?" Mike asked as Susan came back into the house.

"I'm not sure but I'm going to call Gabby and Lynette round. Why don't you go upstairs and try to get back to sleep, we'll deal with Bree but thanks for bringing her in." Susan had already picked up the phone and began dialling Lynette's number as she spoke to Mike. He didn't interrupt her but silently kissed her forehead before making his way upstairs.

"How long do you think she's been out for? Should we call a doctor, she looks so pale and she's really cold." Lynette had her hand on Bree's forehead as she knelt beside Susan's sofa to check on her.

Susan had just finished telling them both about what had happened. "Maybe, the driver wasn't really a talker so I don't know."

"It's all a bit mysterious if you ask me." Gabby commented as she handed a blanket, she had found in Susan's cupboard, to Lynette who laid it over Bree in an attempt to warm her up.

"Hey you." Lynette softly but happily smiled at Bree whose eye's had just flickered open. Gabby and Susan moved round to the sofa as Bree came round.

"Where –" Bree tried to sit up but Lynette firmly held her down.

"You passed out Bree just relax for a bit until you get yourself together. You're at Susan's house."

"How did I get here?" Bree spoke but didn't try to move. "What happened?"

"A taxi driver brought you round to Susan's but we were hoping that you'd be able to answer the last question." Gabby tried to make the statement sound light but they were all worried. Surely Bree hadn't been able to drink herself unconscious when they'd been together chatting only a few hours ago.

"I think I was at the mall, I was hungry –"

"Yes that's right, the guy gave me your keys and said the car was in the Walmart car park."

"It's all a little hazy." Bree tried to concentrate and retrace her steps in her mind.

"Bree had you been drinking again?" Lynette decided she had to ask, they were all thinking it.

"No!" Bree sounded certain, even if she couldn't quite remember what had happened she was sure she hadn't succumbed to alcohol again and she needed her friends to believe that.

"Fine, we believe you honey but something happened so please just try to remember." Susan spoke now.

"Oh God." The words came out as a gasp causing all three women to stare at Bree waiting for her to confirm what she had remembered. "It was Karl."

"Sweetie, Karl's dead." Susan was the one to remind Bree, even though it hurt her to say it too. "Why don't you just relax and think about it later." Susan comforted Bree who looked rather shaken then gave Lynette and Gabby a look to get them to move away and have a private word.

"We need to keep an eye on her, even more so than we thought we did." Lynette decided.

"First she's at it with everything that moves and drinking like a fish and now she's seeing dead guys!"

"Alright Gabby, she hasn't been herself but let's just keep calm and take care of her." Susan glanced over at Bree as she spoke, who was still lying on the sofa.

_Karl_ – Bree repeated his name over and over, she was so sure that it had been him, so sure.

**Let me know what you think, I know some of you had other people who you'd hoped it would be but I hope you'll enjoy where I take this anyway :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Next update for all of you :) I hope it's worth the wait, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!**

Two days had passed since Bree had been brought to Susan's house in the night, unconscious. Bree had been adamant that she didn't need to go to hospital, despite her friends requests. Furthermore, she had stopped opening up about what had happened – claiming that she didn't remember.

This was a lie. Bree remembered what had happened – who had been there – but it sounded crazy even in her own mind. As small recollections came back to her everything seemed to make perfect sense until she remembered again; he's dead. Maybe she was making up the whole thing in her mind because she wished Karl would be there to look after her, yet it remained a fact that she had been found unconscious and her car had been in that car park – so if Karl didn't happen, what did?

Susan had tried to confront her about what she had said when she had first regained consciousness but Bree had brushed it off, claiming that she was too dazed and confused to be making any sense. The last thing she needed was her friends thinking that she had completely lost the plot; they had already questioned whether she was back on the booze which wasn't in any way helping her attempt to regain a decent reputation.

The confusion and doubt in her mind about that night didn't exactly help with her struggle to remain sober though. Each time her memory and the facts collided it gave her an incredible headache which made her long for a bottle of wine that could run smoothly down her throat until she was unable to remember anything at all. No – that wasn't the solution and she knew it.

Now, sitting alone at home she tried to watch some tedious day time television to pass the time and distract her. She had already spent the morning baking a cake which was why she now felt that she had nothing to do as she waited for the timer to go off so that she could remove, what was sure to be a perfect, cake from the oven.

The television flickered as she flipped through the numerous channels – she hardly recognised any of the shows and couldn't get into the storylines of shows she used to watch, it seemed like so long ago when she had spent her days relaxing rather than sleeping off an awful hangover. She noted that this was another good reason for why she should stay off of the alcohol!

*ring* It was the doorbell and Bree was glad of a distraction from the terrible choice of television so she quickly turned the box off and brushed down the simple skirt that she was wearing to remove any creases as she went to answer the door.

"Hello." She greeted cheerfully as she swung the door open but her expression hastily changed as she realised who was standing on her doorstep.

"Can I come in please?" His voice ran through her like ice, each word cutting into her as her mind challenged the reality in front of her with the facts that she knew. "Bree, are you alright? You're not going to pass out on me again are you?" He sounded concerned as he looked into her eyes and she realised that she had probably gone very pale – well what did he expect.

"Karl –" she couldn't even think of what to say to him.

"Bree please can I come in? I can't risk anybody seeing me." – slap – she hit him round the face with all the strength she could muster.

He rubbed he's cheek that was admittedly stinging, but he couldn't deny that he had deserved that, then he walked into the house as Bree moved aside from the door to let him in.

"You're dead." These were the words she decided to use as she sat back down on her sofa, now in a completely different mood. He stood uncomfortably whilst she sat, just looking at her as she let her head fall into her hands. He didn't know whether she wanted him to speak but decided against it in case he received another slap.

Suddenly Bree seemed to snap out of her confusion, she quickly stood up and stood in front of him in order to confront him. "I don't know how on Earth you've pulled this stunt Karl but how dare you come here and start chatting on my doorstep as if nothing happened!" She'd gotten up way to quickly and felt a little light headed. She must have swayed slightly because he gently held her arm to steady her.

"Don't touch me." She stated as she moved her arm away from him. She told herself that she wanted to remain confident and strong but she knew deep down that she simply couldn't bear to feel his touch after such a long time of only being able to dream about it.

"Will you let me explain or are you too angry?" He asked her after a moment of silence.

"Don't patronise me Karl." She warned then softened her expression – however angry she felt, she needed to hear what he had to say; she wanted to hear it. "sit down then." She offered and they both sat down on the sofa. He remained a little further from her than he would of liked because he didn't feel that it was the right time to be pushing his luck with her.

"How are you feeling now?" He decided to make the first move and start a conversation before going into a full blown explanation that might be too much for her to handle. She seemed a little confused by his question so he added; "you were out for quite a while the other night and I wasn't planning on coming back here – not ever – but I couldn't bear not knowing if you were okay."

"Oh" she paused, she was take aback by his honesty and emotion, it had always been so physical when they were together and it was touching to know that he really did care for her. "No, I'm fine, thank you for being there, for helping me. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't –"

"Don't." He cut her off sharply as his temper rose and he tried to control himself, "I haven't been able to get that thought out of my mind. That little scumbag I… well, I just needed to see that you were alright." He was proud that he had controlled his anger and by the smile that had now replaced the look of anger on Bree's face, she was proud too.

"I haven't even offered you a drink." Now that her anger had subsided she remembered her manners and went to stand up and get her guest a drink.

"You've not changed one bit have you," Karl smiled now, he reached his hand over to her knee to stop her from standing up, "I don't need a drink but I think you deserve an explanation."

The touch caused the shivers to return all over again. "Okay." She replied and remained seated causing him to remove his hand, something she wasn't sure if she really wanted him to do.

"Bree I didn't die in that plane crash, but when I heard about what had happened to Orson I knew that I needed to get away. You deserved so much better than me and as much as you hated Orson I always knew that you two would work it out so I, done a few things that I shouldn't have, and then made myself a fresh start."

"That wasn't your decision to make Karl! God, I went to your funeral, I mourned you and I never forgot, not ever. Even as me and Orson worked through our problems you were always in the back of my mind – always in my heart, and all the while you were out there having this secret fresh start I don't believe it!" Her anger was back now, she couldn't believe what he had just told her, after everything she'd been through – she'd needed him and he could have been there, but he'd chosen not to be. A tear ran down her face with this thought and she went to wipe it away but he got there first and as he's hand came into contact with her cheek she didn't have the power to move away.

"I needed you." She whispered as he kept his hand exactly where it was even though the tear had gone.

"I know Bree, I need you too and that's why I'm here. I told myself that I could live without you but I was wrong, I was so wrong Bree."

The emotion in his voice pushed her over the edge; she leaned forward and kissed him. As he leaned back, a little surprised, she moved on top of him deepening the kiss with all the passion that had built inside of her. They hadn't finished talking, there was so much left to say and discuss but right now she needed his touch. She needed to feel him and be with him in the best way they knew how.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's not the longest of chapters but I hope you enjoy it :)**

**Disclaimer: Just to add that Desperate Housewives nor its characters belong to me. **

"Oh God." Bree sat up in bed thinking that she had just experienced another of her vivid dreams, but it was still daylight and as she heard his voice and felt his arms fold around her once more, she knew this was real.

"Oh God indeed." He whispered in her ear as he kissed her neck. Their kiss had grown increasingly passionate and before either of them knew what was happening they were in Bree's bed where they now sat, with only the bed sheets to cover them.

"Karl," she warned as she got up from the bed. Glancing around for the clothes she had been wearing, she realised that they could be anywhere between the living room and her bedroom so she opted for her silk dressing gown to cover herself in. She remained standing as she looked at the man in her bed, as much as she wanted to join him again, she couldn't allow him to cloud her judgement with his…ways…

"Aren't you coming back to bed?" He asked, his seductive tone pushing the limits of her self-control.

"Karl please don't, that was a mistake."

The bluntness of her tone upset him and he spoke more seriously now; "Bree don't say that."

She could see that he was hurt by her words so she perched on the edge of her bed to explain in a softer manner; "Karl I need time to get my head around this. I can't just forget that the man in front of me now was dead – for over a year I had to accept that and then, here you are, in my life again. Rushing into bed with you wasn't the right thing to do; we can't just pick up where we left off because things are different. Karl; I'm different."

"You felt exactly the same to me darling." The tease was back in his voice until he noticed that she was holding back tears. "Bree, I'm serious. Every day I've missed you, I held on to the memories of the time we spent together longing for just one more moment with you because you're perfect Bree." He smiled at her, speaking from the heart was something that had never come naturally for him but right then it felt good to tell her the truth.

His honesty was met with an unexpected reaction however when Bree burst into tears – tears that didn't look like happy tears to Karl. He leant over to take her into his arms, only in a comforting way, but she lurched back and got up from the bed once more to move away from him.

"Just let me hold you Bree, let me look after you for once. Things are different now – we have nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of, we can be together, we can get married like we were supposed –"

"Just stop it Karl. Get out! I can't do this please – just go." She tried to wipe away her tears as she spoke but they continued to run down her cheeks as Karl stared at her with a confused expression.

"I mean it Karl get –" *ring* The doorbell interrupted what she was going to say. "Oh no, whose that?" The question was rhetorical but Karl swiftly moved to the window and peaked out to see who was on Bree's porch. He couldn't see the figure completely but made a guess at who it was. "I think it's Susan" he informed Bree.

"I better go and see what she wants; she'll be suspicious if I don't. Just stay here Karl, don't move." Despite the very conflicting order from just a moment ago, Karl got back onto the bed and nodded to Bree to confirm that he would stay there. He couldn't believe that anyone would ever be suspicious of Bree but she seemed flustered and he didn't much want anyone on the lane to see him just yet so he took her orders obligingly.

Walking down the stairs towards the door Bree noticed all the clothes that were scattered on the floor and even up the stair rail. She wondered if she could quickly collect the items and hide them somewhere but at the doorbell rang a second time she thought that it would just be best to get rid of Susan, or whoever it was, before they got impatient.

"Hello Susan." Bree greeted as she opened the door a little.

"Hey Bree – Oh I'm sorry did I wake you?" Susan could see through the gap that Bree was in her dressing gown and her hair was a little messy which was unusual for Bree who usually never had a hair out of place.

"Oh, umm… yes I was just having a nap I uh… had a little headache, nothing too serious." Bree hoped that the lie sounded convincing. "Was there something you wanted?" She prompted Susan to get on with whatever she had to say so that she could get her to go away and deal with the big problem she still had sitting upstairs!

"I was just coming round for a chat really, to see how you're doing." She said the end of the sentence in a hushed tone as if not to let anyone else hear. Bree would have laughed at this had she not been in such a state because everyone knew about her recent antics and a hushed voice wouldn't save her from the gossip that had already circulated.

"Really Susan I don't need babysitting, I'm absolutely fine and you can tell Lynette and Gabby that too because I'm sure they are a part of this plan you all have to keep me under observation." She spoke a little harsher than she probably should have seeing as her friends were just trying to look out for her.

"Bree we're just –"

"Hey! What are you two chatting about on the doorstep?" Lynette walked over from her house and spoke cheerily to her friends. She had 'noticed' the conversation going on and decided to help Susan since Bree didn't look like she was going to invite anybody in let alone accept help.

"Oh great." Bree muttered, and then spoke aloud so that the two women could hear her; "Susan was just leaving actually, like I told her – I'm fine." Bree went to close the door but Lynette reached it just in time and pushed through. "You won't mind us coming in then – what the…" Lynette scanned the room and didn't know what to make of the clothes – noticeably both male and females – strewn across the floor. "Bree what's going on here, I thought things had changed – I thought we'd gotten through to you." Susan sounded disappointed and Bree felt ashamed.

"It's not what you think." She tried but she sounded feeble and there was no explaining to Lynette when she was angry.

"Really?" Lynette retorted, "then you won't mind me going upstairs and seeing which stranger is in your bed this time!" Lynette wasn't in the mood to wait for Bree's permission, she simply stormed up as Susan followed.

"Please don't do that!" Bree shouted desperately to her friends as they made for her bedroom. She quickly followed praying that Karl had the sense to hide somewhere.

Hearing the raised voices and then the (several) footsteps coming upstairs, Karl panicked. Wrapping the bed sheet around his lower body he got up from the bed and scanned for a hiding place. Of course, in classic Bree style the room was so simplistic that there was nowhere to hide and nothing to hide behind so as the door swung open and she turned around he was grateful to have his modesty covered as he stood otherwise completely bare in the middle of the room.

Lynette didn't even step into the room as she pushed the door open. She was taken aback as she recognised the man standing in front of her and wished that she hadn't been so stunned because maybe she could have stopped Susan from experiencing what was bound to be 100 times more of a shock. Too late – Susan was stood next to her in the doorway without a single word to say.

**What did you think - please comment and let me know I love hearing your opinions :) M xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this in such a long time! For anyone that's still interested here is the next part but I'm sad to say that I don't feel like it's a great update - I've kind of hit a block :( **

**Please still let me know what you think & I'm completely open to any ideas / inspiration right now!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Desperate Housewives or it's characters **

"Hey Susie" Karl smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood which had rapidly become so tense that the atmosphere could have been cut with a knife. Stood motionless in the doorway, Susan stared dumbfounded at the man before her. Her ex-husband, her dead ex-husband was standing, alive and well, before her. Worse still, he was in the bedroom of one of her closest friends whilst she had been kept in the dark. They say that ignorance is bliss but as she stood here now all Susan could feel was an anger building up inside of her. The word humiliation could not even begin to describe how she felt because she had been betrayed, kept in the dark and now shocked beyond belief – and it was too much for her to handle.

For someone who usually always had something to say Lynette was completely taken aback and silenced by this situation. Yes, she had more than expected a man to be inappropriately dressed in Bree's bedroom – she had been ready to give him an earful and chuck him out – but what she had not expected was for the man to be Susan's ex-husband who was, even more surprisingly, supposed to be dead. Seeing Susan sway a little, Lynette lightly placed her hand on her friends arm so that she could hold her up if she passed out; something that Lynette wouldn't blame her for doing after this sort of a shock.

Susan's sway was not in fact a loss in the ability to stand, but rather the starting point for how she was going to express her feelings. Without warning she stormed through the doorway and towards Karl who, when she reached him, she began attacking with her fists. With all the strength that her fragile frame could muster she hit him whilst the silence was filled with her shouts.

"You're dead – they told me you were dead – I went to your bloody funeral – what the hell is going on – you son of a – why are you here – why haven't you been here – Julie – me…" With each burst of anger she hit his chest, hoping that he could just begin to feel some of the pain and confusion that was running through her at that moment. No matter what they had been through, somewhere in her heart, Susan loved Karl. He was the father of her beautiful daughter and that was why it'd hit her so hard when he'd 'died'. She had accepted and even blessed Karl's planned relationship with Bree before his 'death' but now it hurt her so badly to know that he hadn't had the decency or care to share the tiny detail that he was alive – and what hurt more, was that she hadn't either.

Karl did not move as she lashed out at him, he felt that he deserved each and every hit and hurtful comment because he could see that she was in shock. He hoped that at some point she would allow him the chance to explain, but for now he realised that she needed to deal with this shock, even if her emotions came out in a way that he'd never seen her before.

As the energy drained from her body Susan's arms eventually failed her and she could no longer hit out. She'd tried her best not to cry in front of him but now the tears ran down her face, she stepped back from him a little shocked by her own outburst but she didn't say anything more. Instead she turned to the doorway where Lynette still stood and looked at her friend for some help on what to do next.

Right now Lynette was only concerned for Susan who looked so hurt and vulnerable. She hadn't tried to intervene with her outburst because she knew that Susan deserved to feel angry and she also felt that Karl needed to see that too. Now though, she stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her friend in order to lead her out of the room. "Come on," she whispered, "I'll take you home."

As Lynette walked Susan back along the corridor they past Bree who was leaning against the top stair banister a little along from her bedroom. After seeing how hurt Susan was Bree couldn't bear to see any more of the outburst especially since she had no right to stop it, so she had moved away from her room but hadn't got very far so just rested herself against the banister. Hearing footsteps she raised her head to see Susan walking, cradled, in Lynette's arm.

"Susan." She spoke the name softly but didn't know what else she was going to say yet.

Susan quickly raised her head from Lynette to look sharply at the woman who had just called her name.

"Don't you dare speak to me!" she spat.

"Susan, please? –"

"No Bree. I knew how much he meant to you, I comforted you at his so called funeral when nobody else knew what was going on and this is how you repay me! I hope he was worth it Bree because you're no friend of mine." With that she continued to make her way downstairs.

As she heard her front door slam shut Bree dropped her head again and allowed a tear to run down her cheek. Yet again she had caused a huge mess in her life and she couldn't even blame the alcohol – all she had to blame was herself – she had slept with Karl without thinking and now, she had lost one of her closest friends.

"Just give her time to calm down, she'll understand Bree, she's just in shock." Karl put his arm around a fragile looking Bree after stepping out of her bedroom in search of his clothes.

"Don't," Bree took a step back to move away from his touch, "just don't Karl! You don't know that she'll understand, God even I don't think I understand what's going on here. Really I think it's just best if you leave." With that she made her way downstairs. Passing the scattered clothes she gave a disgusted look because of their now tainted reminder and made straight for her kitchen to make herself a coffee.

As she stirred the coffee grains into boiled water she felt that someone was watching her and turned to find Karl in her kitchen now dressed again.

"What are you still doing here?" She asked, attempting to make her voice sound blunt so that he would just leave. However, Karl could hear the pain in her voice and remained where he was.

"Do you really want me to go Bree?"

"You can't stay" she answered after a pause.

"That's not what I asked." He remarked but held back his smile knowing that this was not the time to be making light of things.

"I can't bear to loose Susan over this Karl, she's a dear friend and what she said was true! She was there for me; she comforted me when nobody else knew the pain I was in over your death. Now look at the mess I've made of things, the same mess I make of everything in my life Karl! I'm a mess so just leave now before I ruin your life too."

"Bree, calm down, we can fix this. Yes, it seems like one big mess but I promise you that Susan will come round. As for me, Bree, you could never ruin my life – never, your perfect."

"If you really think Karl then you simply have to leave."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know me at all."

"I can't believe it, Lynette, what the hell just happened back there?" Susan was pacing her front room ranting to Lynette who sat on her sofa. After guiding her back home, Lynette had watched Susan run things over in her mind silently until she had leaped up and begun expressing all of her confused thoughts, aloud.

"I know, I know, it's a lot to take it Susan. I'm sorry I just don't really know what to say…" Lynette trailed off, as much as she would like to comfort Susan, she was just as baffled by the whole situation as her friend was.

"I've a right to go right back over there and demand an explanation." Susan headed for her door as she spoke but Lynette was hastily by her side.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea Susan. You're still in shock and you might not be ready to hear what he has to say yet."

Susan paused and sighed at her ever level headed friends words; "You're right," she admitted, "I hate it when you're right!" she added teasingly with a smile to say thank you for all the support her friend had given her that day. Things had been hard, but at least she knew that there was one friend she could rely on.

**I really hope that there can be more & at least a sufficient ending for all of you but I think I'm going to need some help :) M**


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